The History Of Brushy Land

On November 21, 1978 my remarkable father, Dan Stone (1939-2023), bought 226 acres of hilly, wooded land in East Texas. Our close family friend, Billie Hale (1934-2020) nicknamed the land, "Brushy Land", partly because it is located near a town called Brushy Creek, and partly because it has a lot of trees. The name stuck.

Dad was only 39 when he bought Brushy Land, and I was just 12. My father was kind, smart, and immensely creative - a fun-loving mathematician and successful businessman in the technology arena. And he loved being outdoors with loved ones. He owned and greatly enjoyed Brushy Land for 45 years until his death at age 84 in 2023. I inherited Brushy Land after he passed.

Not long after Dad bought the land in 1978, he and I and our friends began building shelters and barns and various platforms - all designed by Dad. And we rode dirt bikes. And watched sunsets. And talked about the stars and galaxies. Throughout the decades, Dad & I intentionally kept Brushy Land pretty rustic so that it feels different from being in the city. So there's no running water or electricity. But we do have an outhouse with a flushing porcelain toilet. And our shelters have wooden floors, shingled roofs, and 3-foot high walls. So, as I often say, Brushy Land is one step above camping, but not two. And that's intentional.

A couple of years after Dad bought the land, he had it designated a Tree Farm. Having the Timber Exemption lowered the county property taxes, but it also meant that we had to periodically have some of our beautiful trees cut down - which Dad & I both loathed. Texas eventually allowed folks with a Timber Exemption to switch to a Wildlife Exemption while keeping the same property tax reduction. Switching to a Wildlife Exemption would mean that trees would no longer have to be cut down, in exchange for doing a few wildlife management practices each year. In July 2024, I had Brushy Land's Timber Exemption switched to a Wildlife Exemption.

There are plenty of pictures of Brushy Land on my site - but very few from the early days back in 1978 & 1979. Here are a few from back then.


Brad, Dan & Jason - December 1978 Building the main entrance.

Brad & Jason - December 1978 Jason and I could only work so long before finding a way to play.

Dan Stone - Fall 1979 At the original front entrance.

Don Hale & Dan Stone - Fall 1979 Building "The Kitchen" - the first of many structures.

Don Hale, T.J. Stone & Rosemary Sullivan - Fall 1979 Notice the unfinished "Kitchen" in the background.

Dan Stone - Fall 1979 Dad is admiring the nearly completed Kitchen. A few months later we built "The Lodge" next to the Kitchen.

"The Group" at Brushyland - May 1979.

Thanksgiving 1979 Thanksgiving at Brushyland has become quite the annual tradition. But that first one was cold (39 degrees) and windy. It's amazing the tradition didn't end right there. At that time we had only built The Kitchen, which couldn't hold everyone, so we did not have a roof over our heads as we ate. By the end of the meal, sleet was pelting our Thanksgiving dinner. Good times!


Mema (my grandmother) & our good friend Chuck Mandernach - Thanksgiving 1979

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